Two New Additions For Keithley to Create the Most Advanced and Cost Effective Solution for Semiconductor Parametric Analysis and Testing

Keithley Instruments, Inc., a
leader in solutions for emerging measurement needs, announces two new
additions to its Series 2600 SourceMeter(R) Instruments to create the
industry's most advanced and cost effective solution for semiconductor
parametric analysis and testing. The Models 2635 and 2636 represent a
new and unique way of doing parametric analysis at resolutions as fine
as 1fa (10(-15) amp), which is often required for many semiconductor,
optoelectronic, and nanotechnology devices. Moreover, their
instrument-based, multi-channel architecture results in a 50 percent
lower cost than typical mainframe-based source-measure solutions. With
their Test Script Processor (TSP(TM)) and TSP-Link(TM)
intercommunications bus, these new instruments enable engineers to
quickly create fast test systems that are ideal for research,
characterization, wafer sort, reliability, production monitoring, and a
multitude of other test applications.

Series 2600 SourceMeter Instruments

The Models 2635 and 2636 provide cost-effective DC and pulse
testing from femtoamps and microvolts up to 200V/1.5A. They operate
with or without a PC, providing test speeds up to four times faster
than typical mainframe-based source-measure solutions. Moreover, each
includes a PC-like microprocessor to enable easy programming and
independent execution of test programs (scripts) ranging from the
simple to complex, including sourcing, measuring, test sequence flow
control, and decisions with conditional program branching. Since they
can be easily integrated with other instruments in automated systems,
they will be very attractive to component manufacturers and
semiconductor fabricators for wafer level testing and packaged device
testing. At the same time, their low cost makes them attractive to
researchers and academics in a wide variety of disciplines that require
fast and easy I-V characterization of devices and materials.

Easy Scalability for Lowest
Cost of Ownership

The Models 2635 and 2636 enable users to significantly reduce
their cost of test for low and medium pin count devices or multiple
devices and material samples. They operate as five precision
instruments in a single box: SMU (source-measure unit), DMM (digital
multimeter), bias source, low frequency pulse generator, and arbitrary
waveform generator. These functions are controlled by TSP, which
enables fully programmable sequences to be downloaded and executed
within the instrument. This eliminates communications and PC overhead
for critical throughput gains, while allowing complete flexibility in
controlling and adapting to different test situations.

In addition to TSP, Keithley's TSP-Link master/slave
connection provides a high-speed, low-latency interface to other
TSP-based instruments, enabling simple multi-box and multi-instrument
software control. A major benefit is easy scalability of Series 2600
test systems according to present and future needs. Multiple
single-channel (Model 2635) units and dual-channel (Model 2636) units
can be integrated seamlessly without a host mainframe. This
mainframeless scalability allows system sizes up to 32 channels per
GPIB address, while minimizing cost, rack space, and time required when
adding future channels. By using selected products in the Series 2600,
users can standardize on two or three SMU models to cover tests up to
10A pulse or 3A DC in a wide range of applications. The SMUs can then
be re-purposed by simply changing the test scripts they execute.

Shorter Test Times

All of Keithley's TSP-based systems are capable of storing and
running thousands of lines of code for predefined device tests that
include limit comparisons, pass/fail decisions, parts binning, etc.,
and they all work with or without a PC controller during test
execution. Furthermore, their digital I/O can directly control probers,
handlers, and other instruments, while TSP-Link allows users to execute
high-speed automated tests across multiple channels and instruments
without GPIB traffic. This results in test time reductions as large as
10X compared to older sequencing instruments; 2X to 4X test time
reductions are common in component testing.

When the Models 2635 and 2636 are combined with Keithley's new
Series 3700 System Switch/Multimeter instruments, which also
incorporate TSP and TSP-Link, an even broader range of high-speed
applications can be served. Together, these two product series provide
the fundamental building blocks that enable tightly integrated
high-performance switching and multi-channel I-V measurements. Test
engineers can use them to easily create low-cost ATE systems optimized
for high throughput in applications such as semiconductor stress
testing and functional packaged device tests.

Easy System Development

Historically, it has been a challenge to develop
multi-instrument characterization or ATE systems for basic R&D
and high-speed production testing. Keithley solves this problem with
two free software tools that greatly simplify systemization of the
Series 2600 SourceMeter Instruments. For R&D and curve tracing
applications, Keithley's LabTracer(TM) 2.0 software controls up to
eight SourceMeter Instrument channels to perform device
characterization with no programming whatsoever. This software allows
the user to fully configure each channel, run device parameter tests,
and plot test data - simply and easily.

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